Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/452

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FEEHAN
FEIJO

mann at once sought the emperor and asked for the vacant post. This appointment he received, but soon after it was revoked at the request of the Welsers, and the office given to Georges de Spire. He determined, however, to return to Venezuela, and, accepting the office of lieutenant under the governor, he reached Coro 22 Dec., 1534, with Spire and 160 soldiers. They were first to attempt discoveries toward the south, and the troops, who were divided into two bodies under the respective commands of the two German officers, were to meet in the neighborhood of Barquisimeto. While Georges de Spire went eastward, Federmann journeyed to the west, with his mind well made up never to rejoin his associate, but to go on a voyage of discovery on his responsibility. Keeping always to the west, and in a continual struggle with the Indians, he overcame prodigious obstacles on his route, which are well depicted in the pages of the Spanish historians, Piedrahita and Castellanos. Finally he arrived in New Granada, and had the good fortune to reach the plateau of Bogotá at the very time that Quesada and Sebastian de Benalcazar appeared there at the head of their troops. One had got there by following the course of the Magdalena river, the other had come through Ecuador. The meeting was by no means a gratifying one to the three chiefs, and heated discussions followed as to which of the three conquerors this rich province should belong. It was finally decided to take the question to Spain to be decided by Charles V. Federmann left with regret a region rich in precious metals, and almost as advanced in civilization as Mexico or Peru, to present himself at the court of Charles V., 1538. He now received the reward of his insubordination; the Welsers, indignant at his treatment of Georges de Spire, threatened him with a ruinous lawsuit, which, however, they were induced to discontinue. The bold captain could not face his misfortunes, which he considered the result of sheer injustice, and the courageous spirit, which had dared without flinching all the dangers of the New World, was quelled by grief and mortification. His work, which he left with his brother-in-law, John Kielhaber, a burgess of Ulm, when he set out on his last trip, was published in German. The title, translated, is “Fine and agreeable narrative of the first voyage of Nicholas Federmann, the younger, of Ulm, to the Indias of the Ocean sea, of all that happened to him in this country up to his return to Spain, written with brevity, and diverting to read” (Haguenau, 1557). This book gives curious details concerning the Indians, their manners, and the means adopted to subdue them. The author expresses himself with a simplicity that wins confidence. A French translation was inserted in Ternaux-Compans', entitled “Voyages, relations et mémoires originaux pour servir a l'histoire de la découverte de l'Amérique, publiés pour la première fois en français” (Paris, 1837). The account of Federmann's second voyage is lost, but a summary of it, with his portrait, may be found in the works of Castellanos and Piedrahita.


FEEHAN, Patrick Augustine, R. C archbishop, b. in Ireland, 1829. lie was educated at Maynooth college, Kildare, and emigrated to the United States in 1852. He selected St. Louis as the scene of his missionary labors, and was appointed president of the Seminary of Carondelet. He acquired great reputation as pastor of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in St. Louis, and in 1865 was consecrated bishop of Nashville, Tenn. The Roman Catholic church made much progress in this state during his administration. and in 1879 the number of churches and priests had nearly trebled. He had founded a college controlled by the Christian Brothers, a convent and refuge of Sisters of the Good Shepherd, and two orphan asylums. He also introduced into his diocese the Sisters of Mercy, the Dominican Sisters, the Sisters of Charity, and the Sisters of St. Joseph, all of whom he placed in charge of academies and parochial schools. In 1880, Chicago was erected into an archiepiscopal see, with two sufi:ragan bishops, and Dr. Feehan was consecrated its first archbishop. During his administration he has created nine new parishes in Chicago alone, and has, in a sense, founded St. Mary's training-school. He was at the plenary council of Baltimore in 1884.


FEGAN, James, soldier, b. in Athlone, Ireland, in 1827; d. in Fort Shaw, Montana. 25 June, 1886. He served in the constabulary in his native country, but came to the United States in early life, and en- listed as a private in the 2d U. S. infantry, 29 Oct., 1851. He re-enlisted eight times, entering the service again as soon as his term expired, and was finally retired on 8 May, 1885. He was sent to the soldiers' home in Washington in 1870, but ob- tained a discharge and returned to active service. Fegan was a well-known character in his regiment, and many stories are told of his shrewdness and humor. He served with credit in the civil war, and was wounded at Antietam. In March, 1868, at Plum Creek, Kansas, he stood guard single-handed over a deserter he had captured and a powder-train, defended both against a crowd of men who wished to recapture the deserter, and brought his charge safe to camp. For his gallantry he was given the U. S. medal of honor. On 6 Dec, 1882, Fegan was made the subject of a special presidential message to congress.


FEIJÓ, Diego Antonio (fay-ho'), Brazilian statesman, b. in S. Paulo, 10 Aug., 1784; d. there, 10 Nov., 1843. He received his early education in a clerical college in his native city. In 1807 he was ordained priest, and soon afterward began to teach in Parahyba. In 1820 the constitutional revolution triumphed in Portugal, and Feijo was sent as a representative from the province of S. Paulo to the Portuguese assembly, to which he was admitted, 11 Feb., 1822. On 25 April he made an eloquent speech in defence of Brazilian rights, which were threatened by the Portuguese majority. The Brazilian deputies were unsuccessful, and Feijo, with five others, left Lisboa secretly for Falmouth, where, on 22 Oct. of the same year, they published a manifesto explaining their conduct. Feijo afterward returned to Brazil, and retired to Itu. In 1824 Dom Pedro I. submitted to the municipalities of the empire his project of a constitution, which was almost unanimously accepted, except at Itu, where Feijo proposed to amend it. The province of S. Paulo elected him successively to the legislatures of 1826-'9 and 1830-'3. In 1827 he proposed the abolition of clerical celibacy, and in 1828 submitted a project for the reform of municipalities. In 1831 Feijo was appointed by the regency minister of justice, and in this capacity dissolved undisciplined military bodies, checked on 7 Oct. of that year the revolution in the island of Das Cobras, organized on 10 Oct. a body of military police, and in 1832 suppressed another revolt. In 1833 he was appointed life senator, and in 1834 the electors of the empire made him regent of Brazil. On the previous day he had been appointed bishop of Marianna, but had declined the dignity for political reasons. As regent, he soon proclaimed a liberal and advanced programme, but his policy met